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Monday, December 18, 2017

Minor Update Noted on Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple Renovation Process

Hello again, everyone! While we have not in recent days seen a lot of progress reported on temples worldwide, there was one milestone of which I learned earlier today that I wanted to pass along. According to reports I have received, those working on the renovation process for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple have completed the removal of the marble cladding on that temple's exterior. It is amazing to see how much that temple has progressed since its renovation closure started just over two months ago on October 14.

By contrast, the Asuncion Paraguay Temple renovation process began about two weeks after that, and there has not been any news of progress on that temple since its October 29 closure. In so saying that, I do not mean to imply that no progress has been made whatsoever. Rather, it means that if any progress has been made on that project, it has not been reported in the sources I turn to for such information.

That said, I was able to confirm that, unless something more official is released verifying that is not the case, it would appear that the exterior of the Asuncion Paraguay temple will be altered to match the new look of the Memphis Tennessee and Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temples, and that this has been and will be the same exterior look for all temples build between the late 1990s and the early 21st century under President Hinckley's smaller temple design.

Aside from these developments, there is nothing new to report. It may be that with the world observing Christmas and New Year's Day within the next two weeks, those working on such projects will have a holiday hiatus so they can be home with their families. But I am doing my best to keep myself (and, by extension, each of you) informed on the latest developments and I will be sure to pass along any developments as I become aware of them.

That said, it might not happen today, but at some point prior to Christmas Day in one week, I hope to have a few more posts up in my series that I have done about current temple districts and potential future ones within each of the Church's geographical areas. I have seven such areas left to cover: the Pacific, Philippines, South America Northwest, South America South, and the three areas in Utah (Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City, and Utah South).

When I began that series, I could not have envisioned the amount of interest and thoughtful and thorough commentary that has been taking place for those areas of the Church which I have already covered, and I hope it will continue, not just for those areas I have already covered, but for any and all of those areas that I have yet to cover.

That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Minor Update Noted on the Fortaleza Brazil Temple

Hello again, everyone! I just noticed a few minutes ago that a change has been reported on the construction status of the Fortaleza Brazil Temple. While it is still noted that the cupola framework has been installed atop the temple, the additional update is that palm trees are being planted around the parking area of that temple. As I have previously stated, given the fact that full-scale work on this temple began just last year following an almost-5-year delay after its groundbreaking, this temple has made tremendous progress. If it stays on track, it's almost guaranteed that a dedication could follow in mid-to-late 2019. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Summary of Sources Relating to the Church's decision to expand youth service opportunities in the temple

Hello again, everyone! Though I have already done a post covering the Church's announcement about how the youth would be given more opportunities to serve in the temple, today the Church News provided specifics, including links to the official letter and quotations from Church leaders regarding these changes.

You can click here to read the Church News article, here to access a copy of the letter read worldwide in Church services today, and here for an article from the Church's official website that shares more of an interview that was quoted in the first article I cited above in which Elder Quentin L. Cook, who chairs the Temple and Family History Executive Committee, along with the response of auxiliary leaders to these changes.

What a great opportunity the youth now have to expand the ways they serve in the temple. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Temple Updates

Hello again, everyone! I wanted to post right now to note a couple of developments, minor though they may be, relating to temples worldwide. First, I wanted to reiterate what I have previously stated: that whether or not the Church makes an official goal to do so, it is more likely than not that we could see a minimum of 200 temples in operation by or before the Church's bicentennial anniversary is marked on Saturday April 6, 2030.

Because there are currently 23 temples in various stages of construction, the Church would just need to dedicate each of those and announce, complete, and dedicate 18 others (for a total of 41) in the 12.3 years between now and then, which would be an average of 3.3 per year, or 10 every 3 years.

If the Church stays on track with its current temple projects, there will be 3 or 4 dedicated next year, 5-7 during 2019, and at least 1 (that we know of so far) during 2020. And if, as anticipated, several other temples have a groundbreaking in 2018 and 2019, then the Church could maintain (and perhaps even exceed) that average within 2020 and the 2 or 3 years following that.

In the meantime, after not seeing any progress reported on the Kinshasa DR Congo Temple for the last week or so, it has been reported today that the exterior walls are being plastered and that a moisture barrier had been attached to the roof eaves, which have recently completed the framing process.

Aside from these developments, there is nothing new to report in terms of temple construction progress. So that does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.

Temple Site Possibilities: North America Southwest Area, Part Five--Area Wrap-Up and Potential Future Temples

Hello again, everyone! After devoting a good chunk of my day to posting the previous four parts of my analysis of current and potential future temples, I just wanted to post again briefly and wrap up this "series within the series" by discussing those potential future temple locations which I have on my personal list for this area.

Here are the possibilities I see, in order of likelihood within that area: Fort Worth Texas (which, as noted in Part Three of the series of posts I have done today on this area, is the most likely location for the next temple in Texas); Flagstaff Arizona (which, as mentioned in Part Two of this series, seems to be the most likely prospect for Arizona's next temple, and which would serve many of the Saints in that region of Arizona who, as noted, travel almost 120 miles to get to their currently assigned temple in Snowflake.

Finally, aside from the discussion about anything I have missed, the last few possibilities I see in terms of future temples for this area are three specific locations in Nevada, namely: Elko, Winnemucca, and Henderson.

A Henderson temple would help split the current Las Vegas temple district, just as Winnemucca would do for the current Reno temple district. As far as Elko, the interesting thing there is that the two stakes of the Church in that city fall under the Salt Lake temple district, which is currently a drive of 229.6 miles for the Saints in Elko.

Another city in Nevada which I will be watching (but which I do not presently have on my list) is Ely, which is assigned to the Cedar City Utah Temple district at the moment, and which makes it necessary for the Ely Saints to travel 201.1 miles to get to that temple. So I have the first three I mentioned among the list of potential prospects I have kept, and I will be keeping Ely in mind and watching for anything that might warrant my adding it to the official list. For now, it's among some other temples that are more distant possibilities than for the immediate future.

This concludes my coverage of the North America Southwest Area, and also the bulk of my coverage of the areas of the Church within the North American continent, with the exception of the three areas of the Church that cover Utah and small portions and fragments of surrounding regions. That also does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated, especially those that would let me know if I have not considered something in the analysis I have provided here. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.